FGV denies deforestation in West Kalimantan

PETALING JAYA: Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) has clarified that there is no deforestation of natural forest at PT Temila Agro Abadi (PT TAA)'s land in West Kalimantan, Indonesia and has denied that it is a serious repeat offender of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principles & Criteria.
FGV via its wholly-owned subsidiary Felda Global Ventures Kalimantan Sdn Bhd had appointed a third party independent assessor based in Indonesia to conduct a verification assessment on the allegations and reporting by Chain Reaction Research (CRR) and its partner, Aidenvironment.
The articles alleged that, among other things, FGV had cleared peat forest, contrary to its policies and industry standards, on its PT TAA plantation in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
According to the findings of the assessor, there is no deforestation of natural forest at PT TAA's land. PT TAA's natural forest has been completely destroyed by massive forest fires in the 1980's and in 1997 as well as continuous logging operations before the acquisition of PT TAA's land by FGV.